1

I'm hoping to learn the proper grammar for a question I just asked a colleague.

  1. The first of two calipers shipped to us is here.
  2. The first of two calipers shipped to us are here.
Jasper
  • 23,989
  • 4
  • 53
  • 86
Jocelyn
  • 11
  • 1
  • 2
    This is a common question asked of English native speakers to test their ability to match subject to verb. The subject is "the first", which is singular, so it should be **is**. It's also a common question on this site, so you're likely to find many duplicate questions if you search for "subject verb agreement" – Andrew Jan 18 '19 at 18:27
  • @Andrew Should it be marked as a duplicate? – Tashus Jan 18 '19 at 18:27
  • @Tashus I don't know how others do it, but I have the hardest time finding duplicates on SE. For some reason every search pulls up any number of unrelated hits. There must be a trick to it. Fortunately this one was pretty easy, but I suggest Jocelyn do the search herself in case the one I linked doesn't help. There are many, many others. – Andrew Jan 18 '19 at 18:30
  • You wouldn't say *The first of my three children **are** named Mary.* right? – Tᴚoɯɐuo Jan 18 '19 at 18:31
  • @Andrew I also find the interface difficult. Usually I search for a similar question in another tab, then type the exact title into the VTC interface. I have not had much luck using what I assume should be the intended workflow. (I'm not sure this is an exact duplicate though. The subtle difference between a plural as part of the noun phrase and a plural in the predicate makes me think that these are distinct.) – Tashus Jan 18 '19 at 18:33
  • 2
    I think this question is potentially confusing simply because the particular noun ***caliper*** is often pluralised when referring to a ***single*** instrument (somewhat like ***scissors***). Which actually shouldn't have any relevance to the issue being queried, so perhaps it would have been better to ask about *The first of two **instruments** shipped to us.* – FumbleFingers Jan 18 '19 at 19:07
  • 1
    @Andrew I've added a place for folks to share their [searching tips](https://ell.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/4783/contributors-guide-to-english-language-learners/4788#4788) to the Contributor's Guide on [meta]. This is why it's really important to tag things properly - you can use tags to limit your search AND they affect what shows up in the "Related" section in the side bar... – ColleenV Jan 18 '19 at 20:28

1 Answers1

4

Here you should say:

The first of two calipers shipped to us is here.

Two calipers exist, but the subject of the sentence is only the first (caliper). Since this is only a single caliper, the singular verb "is" should be used.

Tashus
  • 7,198
  • 13
  • 22